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Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Allionia incarnata (Trailing windmills)
Loughmiller, Campbell and Lynn

Allionia incarnata

Allionia incarnata L.

Trailing Windmills, Trailing Four O'Clock, Pink Windmills, Trailing Allionia

Nyctaginaceae (Four O'clock Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: ALIN

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

The orchid-colored trailing four-o’clock is a vine that grows along the ground; the plant may be 10 feet across. The stems, leaves, and buds are covered with soft white hair. The stems and flowers are sticky, and one rarely finds a flower without grains of sand stuck on the upper surface. Technically, what appears to be 1 flower is a cluster of 3 resembling a single radially symmetrical flower but no one but a trained botanist would ever guess it.

The flowers remain open most of the day, not just in the evening as suggested by the name. The other species, Smooth Trailing Four-o'clock (A. choisyi), from Arizona to Texas and southward, has a perianth 3/16 of an inch (5 mm) long or less, and the curved edges of the fruit each bear 5-8 slender, gland-tipped teeth.

 

From the Image Gallery

24 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Accessory
Size Notes: Stems procumbent, up to about 5 feet long.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Pink , Purple
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec
Bloom Notes: Primary flowering time is spring through fall, but may flower year-round.

Distribution

USA: AZ , CA , CO , NM , NV , OK , TX , UT
Native Distribution: Southeastern California to southern Utah and Colorado; south to Texas, Mexico, and beyond.
Native Habitat: Dry gravelly or sandy soils in sun.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 0616 Collected Oct 30, 1993 in Comal County by Mary Beth White

1 specimen(s) available in the Digital Herbarium

Bibliography

Bibref 248 - Texas Wildflowers: A Field Guide (1984) Loughmiller, C. & L. Loughmiller
Bibref 328 - Wildflowers of Texas (2003) Ajilvsgi, Geyata.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) Calflora
Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Allionia incarnata in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Allionia incarnata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Allionia incarnata

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-11-04
Research By: TWC Staff

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